All About Lighting

Photographic lighting is the illumination of scenes to be photographed. A photograph simply records patterns of light, color, and shade; lighting is all-important in controlling the image.

Illumination is desired to give an accurate rendition of the scene. In other cases the direction, brightness, and color of light are manipulated for effect.

Lighting is particularly important for monochrome photography, where there is no color information, only the interplay of highlights and shadows.

Lighting and exposure are used to create effects such as low-key and high-key.